Business

Our daily blend of the latest news, trends and tips for the small business community.

What’s going ‘on’:

Senators introduce Startup Act 2.0: A birpartisan group of senators introduced the bill, which would create two new types of visas, one for foreign students who obtain graduate degrees in science- and math-related fields from American universities, and another for immigrants who start companies and create jobs in the United States.

Swing state business owners leaning toward Romney: A new poll from Manta shows that, in what are expected to be the most hotly contested states come November, less than 32 percent of small business owners plan to vote for Obama, while 53 percent plan to vote for Mitt Romney or whoever wins the GOP nomination.

Housing market gets uplifting news: Sales of existing homes increased 3.4 percent last month and remain higher than a year ago, and home prices continued to climb, according to the latest figures released by the National Association of Realtors. The total inventory of existing U.S. homes rose in April to 2.5 million.

Keep an eye ‘on’:

Generic drugmakers complaining over legal loophole: A number of drugmakers say they are unable to create cheaper generic versions of drugs because their rivals are exploiting a legal loophole to avoid sending them named-brand drugs to test against. Critics warn that the practice is bound to become more entrenched and widespread.

Helpful advice ‘on:

How to prepare your firm for the JOBS Act (OSB)

H ow to write a better help-wanted ad (Entrepreneur)

How to prioritize your company’s to-do list (Inc.)

How to decide which tasks to delegate (Open Forum)

How to use time wisely as an entrepreneur (USA Today)

Our daily blend of the latest news, trends and tips for the small business community.

What’s going ‘on’:

Ohio entrepreneur wins SBA’s top award: The Small Business Administration on Monday awarded its 2012 Small Business Person of the Year award to Victoria Tifft, president and chief executive of ClinicalRM, an Ohio-based medical research company. After contracting Malaria 20 years ago in Togo, Tifft launched her firm to help develop medicines and devices to fight such diseases.

Small business owners indifferent toward crowdfunding:Small business owners are none too excited about a new law that will allow them to raise money by soliciting investors online, according to a new survey conducted by Dun & Bradstreet Credibility Corp and Pepperdine University. Only 3 percent of owners said the new law increases the likelihood of companies raising money through crowdfunding.

White House opposes upping small firms’ share of contracts: The White House has come out against a provision in the National Defense Authorization Act (approved last week by the House) that would increase the share of government work expected to go to small businesses every year. In a statement, the administration said it was a “laudable but overly ambitious” goal.

Keep an eye ‘on’:

Facebook stock sinking:Facebook’s stock tumbled well below its $38 IPO price in the company’s second day of trading as a public company on Monday, reinforcing concern that its initial offering was priced too high. Morgan Stanley, which handled the offering, reportedly stepped in to prop up the stock immediately following the debut on Friday.

NSBW events winding down: National Small Business Week concludes on Tuesday in Washington with full day of events including sessions on federal contracting and social media. Hosted by the Small Business Administration, the celebration is meant to highlight small business accomplishments across the country.

Helpful advice ‘on:

How to prepare for the JOBS Act (OSB)

How to hire and delegate well (Yahoo)

How to partner with big firms (Entrepreneur)

How to avoid investor pitch mistakes (Forbes)

While the latest nationwide polls show little distance between President Obama and Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican nominee appears to have developed a wide lead among one potentially important group of voters: small business owners in swing states.

Most swing state business owners said they were at least somewhat satisfied with the crop of presidential candidates. (Carolyn Kaster, Charles Dharapak - AP) On Tuesday, Manta released new polling showing that, in what are expected to be the most hotly contested states come November, less than one out of three (32 percent) small business owners plan to vote for a second term for Obama, while more than half (53 percent) plan to vote for Mitt Romney or whoever wins the GOP nomination.

Roughly 4 percent said they would vote for the Republican candidate only if the name at the top of the ticket was Ron Paul, and 2 percent said they don’t plan to vote no matter who runs against Obama.

Victoria Tifft fromOhio was named the National Small Business Person of the Year by the Small Business Administration Monday at an event headlined by Small Business Administrator Karen Mills.

Our daily blend of the latest news, trends and tips for the small business community.

What’s going ‘on’:

NSBW kicks off: Sunday marked the start of National Small Business Week, a three-day conference in Washington focusing on small business accomplishments, including disaster recovery, procurement and entrepreneurial success. On Monday, the Small Business Administration will formally recognize state and national small business award winners at a luncheon downtown.

U.S. contractors threatened by direct foreign aid: American contractors risk losing business under a plan to double the share of international aid awards given to overseas entrepreneurs and governments. The U.S. Agency for International Development awarded $2.12 billion of its foreign assistance budget to the overseas groups last fiscal year, compared with $1.94 billion a year earlier.

G-8 shifts away from austerity: The G-8 leaders opened the door this past weekend to more government spending in the euro region as way to revive the continent’s struggling economy, a stark change of pace from the austerity measures that have been widely supported in recent months. Specifically, the leaders he leaders present said they would promote investment in education and infrastructure.

Keep an eye ‘on’:

Employee driving habits coming back to bite firms: Lawsuits stemming from automobile accidents caused by distracted driving (texting, phone calls) have become all too common, and now the lawyers who bring them are increasingly targeting the wealthy companies who employed the drivers, reports Ashley Halsey III.

Helpful advice ‘on’:

How your firm can use social media tagging (OSB)

How clustering can boost business (Entrepreneur)

How to find afforable market research (Open Forum)

How bosses can plan for retirement (Fox Business)